Embedded Technologies

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The Different Types of Network Appliance And A Brief Overview of Each

A network appliance is a closed hardware device with a pre-installed software designed to perform a specific function. A router as a lot of people would call it, this kind of appliance can refer to a SOHO (small office/home office) network, a PCI-Express module or an enterprise network or that both homes and offices can use for connectivity requirements. Its collective purpose can be listed as follows: to forward data packets within a computer network, to provide firewall protection and to provide a secure connection to the internet.

SOHO Networks

SOHO networks are essentially LANs or local area networks designed specifically for small organisations and small businesses. It is the same as a standard broadband router that connects multiple computers (it can accommodate 1 to 10 computers only) to one local area network and shares high-speed internet to all connected devices. Like a broadband router, a SOHO network can also share files, printers, voice, fax technologies and other essential work applications to all connected computers. The application of SOHO networks includes load balancing, web filtering, network access control and bandwidth management aside from providing firewall protection and anti-spam and anti-virus defences.

PCI-Express Modules

PCI-Express is short for Peripheral Component Interconnect Express. It is a kind of expansion bus or expansion card used for high-speed computer applications. As an expansion bus, it is treated as a primary motherboard where host system processors, peripheral systems and other expansion cards can be connected.

Enterprise Networks

Enterprise networks function like SOHO networks, but the difference lies in the number of computers and other complex systems that it can support. An enterprise network is ideal for corporations with headquarters scattered along regions within and outside its local territories. A corporation can have various data centres acting as a hub for each regional location, and this regional hub can connect computers from different regional branch offices, individual SOHO networks and mobile employees. Aside from the need to invest on costly infrastructures and equipment, enterprise network users should be wary too of the security and reliability of the connections to prevent threats to shared intellectual property.

Need help regarding these network appliances and which one meets your needs best? Enquire from us today!

[embeddedtechnologies-blog]

Embedded Computers: What Is It And What Are Its Applications

With the many conveniences that we experience today, it is so easy to take things for granted and accept everything we see as fact and not dig deep further. Specifically when it comes to technological devices that ultimately make life more convenient for us, we just buy or use these devices without wanting to know the inner mechanisms that make it what it is today. A perfect illustration of this is an embedded computer. We may not know what it looks like or what it is made of. For as long as you use a digital camera or have used a portable POS to make a debit on your credit card, an embedded computer makes those activities and transactions possible.

In a nutshell, an embedded computer is a special-purpose computer system. It is not the gadget per se, but it is inside the gadget that it controls. If it is to be compared to the human body, en embedded computer is the heart that keeps the blood running in the veins. The term embedded computer is a general term that may refer to a single board computer, an industrial motherboard, a slot SBC and a backplane, COMs or computer on modules, peripherals and carrier boards. These different kinds of embedded computers vary according to size, design and the purpose it is intended for. What is common in its use is that it is always geared towards industrial automation.

Embedded computers are popularly used for a variety of gaming applications. Embedded systems can be used in creating 3D graphic game machines in arcades and touch screen, data-protected bingo systems.  The data protection and high-level security encryption features of such electronic systems allow it to be used in game machines found in casinos. Also, the way a slot machine generates random numbers is the work of an embedded system. Moreover, the use of such embedded electronics makes gaming machines in casinos secure thanks to the read-only encoding function it has that makes it hard to be attacked by spy software.

Aside from gaming applications, embedded computers are also used in a variety of vital medical systems and terminals. Bedside care systems, nursing carts and diagnosis assistants are the common applications of embedded computers in the medical field. Day in and day out, hospitals receive a lot of people requiring medical care and attention. The use of embedded technologies allows doctors and nurses to improve their delivery of health care at the most immediate time possible.

Lastly, embedded computers is also used in different POS and kiosk applications. Information kiosks, ticketing stations, vending machines and purchasing kiosks are examples where embedded electronics can be used. The convenience this provides is 2-way: owners of these commercial applications can focus on their other responsibilities in the store, and consumers have the opportunity for self-service rather than waiting for an available member of the personnel to attend to their needs.

Whether it is for leisure, for medical purposes or for commercial requirements, embedded computers have a place in all those. It is a tiny piece of electronics that works wonders exponentially.